Wenchuan returned to Qixiang Palace and told Consort Wang everything Jin Shikang had said.
"How could you tell him the truth! Couldn't you have secretly found out about that matter behind his back?" Consort Wang said angrily.
"Your Excellency, he is a man of strong principles and would never tell me. He said that Lord Ji has explicitly ordered them to remain silent!" Wen Chuan said.
"Do you have any other ideas?" Consort Wang asked.
“This servant thinks we might as well focus our efforts on his junior brother. Jin Shikang has a junior brother named Dongfang Bufan. He’s much more of a braggart than Shikang.” Wen Chuan had heard about Dongfang Bufan from Jin Shikang more than once.
"Oh? Really?" Consort Wang asked.
“It’s true! As far as I know, Shikang is actually not very satisfied with this junior brother, and he often speaks ill of him in front of me!” Wenchuan said.
"Does this Dongfang Bufan have any leverage that your lover has over him?" Consort Wang raised an eyebrow and asked.
“No, not at all. Shikang said his master favors his junior brother and will definitely promote him to succeed him in the future. Because of this, Shikang has complained to me quite a bit!” Wenchuan said.
Hearing this, Consort Wang already had a plan in mind. She said to Wenchuan, "What if I could get your lover into Ji Changming's position? Go and tell him that if he serves His Highness the Crown Prince, then who becomes the Director of the Imperial Observatory will be a piece of cake! And Wenchuan, you won't have to leave the palace to marry a commoner. Think about it, are you going to marry the Director of the Imperial Observatory, or just go out and marry anyone?"
Upon hearing this, Wen Chuan understood that Consort Wang wanted to tie them all to the Crown Prince's side.
But she really had no choice!
“My lord, I’m actually worried that if Jin Shikang really becomes the chief supervisor, he might look down on me,” Wenchuan said.
“You’re not stupid! Don’t worry, you’re my trusted maid! If he dares to betray you, then he doesn’t want to be the Chief Supervisor anymore!” said Consort Wang.
Wen Chuan agreed to speak with Jin Shikang again, and sure enough, he only hesitated for a moment before agreeing to cooperate with the Crown Prince! After all, the Crown Prince was the future emperor, while she herself was increasingly inferior to her junior brother in terms of face and status in front of their master.
When Consort Wang learned of this, she was greatly shocked and immediately told her daughter-in-law to go and tell the Crown Princess.
When the Crown Prince learned why Emperor Kangxi valued Hongli so much, he was so angry that he overturned all the books on his desk!
"Your Highness, please calm your anger!" said the Crown Princess Shi.
"Hmph, does he even care about me, his son? He's already chosen his grandsons, so where does that leave me?" the Crown Prince said.
“Your Highness, now that we know how important Hongli is, you can eliminate him without a trace,” said Shi. “In this palace, we are not the only ones who dislike Hongli!”
The rage that had just been radiating from the Crown Prince's eyes vanished instantly. He was more prone to anger than ever before, and more suspicious of Kangxi's attitude towards him.
“You’re right, Consort Hui and Consort Rong don’t like him. How could my good elder brother and third brother be willing to accept this?” the Crown Prince said with a slight smile.
“That’s right. As long as this secret is revealed, they will all try to get rid of that child!” Shi said. “Prince Yong is really lucky. His son is so valued by the Emperor, who also bestowed the Yuanmingyuan Garden upon him. It’s obvious that he doesn’t respect you, the Crown Prince!”
"Hmph, I never saw his ambition before, it turns out he hid it so deeply!" the Crown Prince said angrily.
"Your Highness, I think we shouldn't tell them directly. It's best not to let anyone know that we've told him this secret. They all have ulterior motives and would love for you to be deposed by Father again!" Shi said.
“Of course! We must not let anyone know that we know about this!” the Crown Prince said.
"Then who should we ask to spread this message?" Shi pondered.
"Why not inform them via a secret letter? They wouldn't be foolish enough to tell Father Emperor that they received such a secret letter themselves," the Crown Prince suggested.
“The Crown Prince is absolutely right!” said Lady Shi. “Now, this secret is probably not only being investigated by us. They are all wondering why Father Emperor values Hongli so much!”
Within a few days, both Prince Heshuo and Prince Yi received a secret letter stating that Hongli and Hongzhou were destined to be reincarnations of the Wenwu Star. Hongli's mother and father, however, were unaware of this.
Unbeknownst to Emperor Kangxi, Hongli, whom he so earnestly sought to cultivate, had become a stumbling block in the eyes of many. The Crown Prince, Prince Heshuo, Prince Yi, and others coveting the throne all saw him as a thorn in their side. The various factions within the palace were already deeply entrenched. They all began to gravitate towards those serving Hongli. However, Kangxi maintained strict control; apart from himself, no one else could freely enter or leave the Qianqing Palace. Therefore, Hongli remained safe for the time being.
With the Golden Banquet approaching, winter was just around the corner. Preparations for the festival began in the palace. Consort De and Consort Yi were busy preparing the palace banquet, while Emperor Kangxi was also busy meeting with officials from various regions who were coming to Beijing to continue their duties.
When the Second Princess returned to the capital for the first time to visit her family, she and her husband accompanied Nian Gengyao to the capital and stayed at the home of Nian's eldest uncle in the capital. As soon as the Second Princess returned, she went to the main courtyard to pay her respects to the Fujin (principal wife), and then went to pay her respects to Lady Nian and Lanqin.
However, Lanqin is still not at the manor. It turns out that because of Hongli, the Fourth Prince always felt indebted to Lanqin, so he asked her to take the children to live in the Yuanmingyuan. She has been there for almost half a month now and has not returned to the manor yet.
After leaving the court each day, the Fourth Prince would go to the Yuanmingyuan Garden, rarely returning to the Yong Prince's Mansion.
When the Second Princess learned of this situation, she knew that Lanqin was still the most favored woman in the Yong Prince's Mansion. Although Lady Nian controlled half of the power in the mansion, she seemed not to care at all and was living a very happy life with her child in the Yuanmingyuan.
Although Lady Wuya could garner some favor from the Fourth Prince, she was ultimately insignificant. She was currently busy taking a fertility-enhancing soup, hoping to conceive a child with the Fourth Prince as soon as possible. While the Princess Consort was now allowed to move about freely, the Fourth Prince hadn't returned the power to manage the household to her, indicating that the title of Princess Consort had truly become a hollow one.
The Song and Geng families all secluded themselves and went about their own business. For a time, the Yong Prince's Mansion was remarkably quiet. But how long could this tranquility last? The Second Princess's return to the capital to visit her family shattered this peace. Upon hearing of the Second Princess's return, the Fourth Prince specially issued an imperial decree, ordering the Nian, Song, Wu, Geng, and Wuya families to accompany the Second Princess to the Yuanmingyuan Garden for a short stay.
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